Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to visit US from Nov 13-16 for IPEF ministerial meet

This framework involves negotiations on agreements related to supply chain resilience.

The IPEF, comprising 14 countries and launched on May 23 in Tokyo, includes the US and other partner nations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Together, these countries make up 40 percent of global GDP and 28 percent of global goods and services trade.

The Commerce Ministry, in a statement on Friday, announced that Goyal will also engage in discussions during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.

He will also have interactions with notable business figures, distinguished academics, US officials, and industry leaders, aiming to enhance and fortify the economic and commercial ties between the two nations.

Supply chain resilience talks have concluded, and India is in the process of domestic approval for the agreement.

The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic engagement among partner countries with the goal of advancing growth, peace and prosperity in the region.

The framework is structured around four pillars relating to Trade (Pillar I); Supply Chains (Pillar II); Clean Economy (Pillar III); and Fair Economy (Pillar IV).

Member nations' officials are currently discussing the clean economy and fair economy pillars.

Countries can choose their participation, and India has opted out of the trade pillar but joined the other three.

Negotiations for separate agreements on these subjects are ongoing among the 14 member countries, including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

In addition, Minister Goyal is set to engage in bilateral discussions with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and counterparts from other Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) partner nations during the ministerial meeting.

"These meetings will focus on addressing trade barriers, promoting investments, and fostering greater cooperation in areas such as technology and innovation," the ministry said.

He will attend the IPEF Leaders' Meeting and the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) - IPEF Investor Forum meeting on November 16, 2023 as India’s representative.

The APEC Economic Leaders Engagements are scheduled for 15-16, 2023, where India has received an invitation as a guest economy.

One of the key focuses of the visit will be the joint event, co-chaired with US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo on the “India-USA Innovation Handshake Initiative”, with the aim to lift up and connect the two sides’ dynamic startup ecosystems, address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation, and promote further innovation and job growth, particularly in emerging technologies, the ministry said.

Goyal will participate in the investors' roundtable along with one-to-one meetings with CEOs, besides interacting with various stakeholders such as students, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and the Indian diaspora.

"Goyal is expected to interact with globally renowned technology, entrepreneurship, and academic communities in the Bay Area, specifically, in the Silicon Valley to undertake focused discussions with American companies looking to invest or expand in India across sectors - Electronics (including Semiconductor), Technology, FinTech," it added.

“India is committed to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific Region and would work towards deepening economic cooperation among partners for growth and prosperity of the region. The framework is inclusive and allows flexibility to partner countries to associate with pillars based on their respective priorities,” the ministry said.

On India-US ties, the ministry stressed that the two countries are "vibrant democracies" and “natural partners” and have trade complementarities, long-standing strategic and economic relationships, and people-to-people contact.

India and the US are also collaborating under other frameworks such as QUAD and I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-USA) and regular exchanges at the leadership level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement.

“The visit reflects the determination to forge strong and mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships that will not only benefit the economies of both India and the USA but also contribute to the overall prosperity and welfare of their respective citizens,” the Commerce Ministry stated.